


Never Give Up Without a Fight

by thesometimeswarrior



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Book 2: Earth, Canon Compliant, Family Feels, Ficlet, Gen, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 00:59:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11680710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesometimeswarrior/pseuds/thesometimeswarrior
Summary: You see something like betrayal in his eyes, know him well enough to know what he’s thinking:You were the one who gave me a knife that says “Never give up without a fight!” This fight, it’s all I have, and now you want me to give it up?You think:a life of peace, Zuko, peace. You don’t have to fight. You don’t have to be another solider in this terrible War of my grandfather’s, and of my father’s, and of your father’s, and of mine. You don’t have to fight.Iroh and Zuko, in the Earth Kingdom.





	Never Give Up Without a Fight

When you tell him that you’re not sure if capturing the Avatar would solve your problems, you see some of the fire drain from his eyes. He says there’s no hope, and you contradict him as strongly as you are able to. Tell him that giving oneself hope is inner strength. 

(As if you have to tell _him_ what inner strength is; he is, has always been, the strongest of you.)

You see something like betrayal in his eyes, know him well enough to know what he’s thinking: _You were the one who gave me a knife that says “Never give up without a fight!” This fight, it’s all I have, and now you want me to give it up?_

(You’re not surprised, therefore, when he decides to travel without you. But that doesn’t mean it breaks your heart any less.)

* * *

When he comes back to you, he doesn’t mention the Avatar, and you think maybe he’s listened, think maybe if you can only get him to Ba Sing Se, he could leave it behind him, could build a life, a _real_ life, could stop being a solider. 

(You’ve lost too many Little Solider Boys; you will _not_ lose him…)

(You see the Avatar’s bison from the ferry. You don’t tell him.)

* * *

He finds the flyers, says that the Avatar is in Ba Sing Se.

You say: “Think about what it is you want from your life and why.” You say: “What your destiny means is up to you.” You say: “There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity.”

You think: _a life of peace, Zuko, peace. You don’t have to fight. You don’t have to be another solider in this terrible War of my grandfather’s, and of my father’s, and of your father’s, and of mine. You don’t have to fight._

* * *

He goes after the bison anyway.

You raise your voice to him, yell about the North Pole and freezing and thinking things through.

 _Don’t you understand_ , you try to say. _Being a soldier in this War could kill you! Fighting could kill you! Don’t you understand, you could die, Zuko!_

( _I don't know what I would do, how I would live, if my war killed you too,_ you think.)

“Is it your own destiny, or a destiny that someone else has tried to force on you?” you say. “I’m _begging_ you Prince Zuko! It’s time for you to look inward, and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you? And what do you want?”

 _Leave it behind_ , you want to say. _Don’t get involved. Look away. You don’t have to fight._

He looks at you.

His eyes say: _Yes, I do._ His eyes say: _This fight is all I have._

He draws his swords and sets the bison free.

* * *

“You did the right thing, Nephew,” you say.

 _I wanted you to look away, to do nothing_ , you think. _But instead you did the right thing._

He is so strong, you think. And he is so Good.

(You are selfish, but he is Good.)

(If he can be this Good, perhaps you can be Good too.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I love comments!


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